Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1887-1890, 1887-09-10
A Mastery Speech.

HELENA, September 9.-Hon. Jesse
Taylor was heard yesterday on the Cas-
cade count bill, by the srecial committee
on that subject. He made what the iade-
pendent regards ''as the most telling
speech of the session. He spoke in part
to the following effect:
Gentlemen-I am in favor not only OF
creating Cascade county, but | wonld
Great other counties wherever new towns
spring up in districts with population
say of three thousand and area of over
thirty square miles. When, as in this
instance, such people can make a county
compact in form, containing all the ele-
ments that go to make strong, wealthy
and prosperous community, then, gentle
men, I would give that people county
government; for [ hold that we should
encourage such settlements by extending
to them all the benefits which home rule
confers. I hold that we should relieve
them from the burdens entailed when the
county seat is remote from the center Of
population. and when boundaries formed
at random years ago compel neighbors to
90 in different directions to transact coun-
ty business, which could be done at q
seat to which all might go easily and work
unitedly for the common good. Lock at
Dakota with her 140 counties. Her re-
scources are not one-haif as great, nor as
varied as ours, yet she has three times the
population of Montana, that glorious ter
ritory. of lofty mountains, of mighty
rivers, and of fertile plains on which mil
lions Of people might dwell in abundance
and enjoy comforts which Dakota with
all her natural wealth can never afford.
This disparity in population | attribute
largely to the fact that Dakota forms Il
county almost as readily as farmer raises
fence: that she encourages that spirit Of
local pride which is developed when
people have a county Of their own and are
not divided by long distances, by rival
interests and by a sense of injustice, real
or supposed.
Mr.. Taylor then referred to the Sun
river valley, and argued that its welfare
would be promoted by annexing it to
Cascade county As for Sun River he
said, that place is o little hamlet which
shows symptoms of that worst of diseases
for small villages. the desire to become
county seat. This accounts for the oppo-
sition to the bill.
Mr. Taylor paid a glowing tribute to
Great Fails He saiel
As the representative of all Choteau
county, [ cordially accord my need OF.
praise to the young Cataract City, which
started without sAilroad communication,
less than three years ago, and has now pros
porous banks, extensive lumber yards,
spacious hotels and mercantile stores of
large extent owned by men of enterprise.
All this progress has been accompanied
by large increase in her industrious,
thrifty population. She stands there on
the Missouri, IN the center of region
rich in soil, rich in minerals, and when
the locomotive enters her limits, as it will
very soon, she will be the natural center
of the territory embraced in the proposed
county as well as of large area besides.
L has been said that this bill is in the
interest of the Great Falls townsite com
pany / know otherwise, for have taken
care to determine for myself the state of
public sentiment, and | know that this
measure is popular and springs from the
people. But. apart from that, I do not
believe that the honorable members of
this Legislature will regard with disfavor
the fact that James J. Hill, Paris Gibson,
Col Broadwater and others have invested
money in that region and are laboring SO
powerfully and so successfully to promote
the development of northern Montana
and Of the entire territory. If such in
vestments were to be made a pretext for
denying localities their just rights, we
might as well put out our Sign at once,
announcing that no outside capital is
wanted.
Mr.. Taylor concluded by strong ap-
peal to the legislature to provide the peo-
pie of Great Falls with the authority to
suppress disorder and maintain good
government, otherwise they might be
driven to adopt the ultimatum of lynch
law, should the advent of the railroad
cause the criminal classes to swarm OF the
new city.
The address was listened to with close
attention and served to silence all objec-
tions to the bill.